This seems to be becoming a trend, but the handful of Wii games that were released this week in Japan are reported to have had poor first day sales. They were all third-party titles, which is also somewhat worrisome. Here's a look at the numbers:- Chocobo's Dungeon (Square Enix) - 30,000 (30% sell through of initial amount shipped)
- NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Sega) - 7,000 (10% sell through)
- Soul Calibur Legends (Bandai Namco) - 5,000 (10% sell through)
- We Love Golf (Capcom) - 4,000 (10% sell through)
- Shikigami no Shiro III (Arc System Works) - 500
So, what do we make of these numbers? If they're correct, is it bad news for the Wii and third-party developers, or just more evidence that Japan is shying away from console gaming? While the latter is certainly a factor, third parties certainly can't be happy to see low numbers. However, it's way too early to ring a death knell for any of these games, even if these numbers are correct. We'll just have to wait and see how these games perform in the next few weeks.
[Via Cubed3]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-16-2007 @ 3:11PM
troy said...
I don't see how 'No More Heroes' could have sold 10k+ and the new NiGHTS couldn't clear that figure. I don't know, I'm waiting for official numbers before I think square-enix didn't hit a homerun on their hometurf with the ever so beguiling looking 'Chocobo's Dungeon' title.
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12-16-2007 @ 3:24PM
Nebinator said...
Odd.... Yay! I got second comment!
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12-16-2007 @ 3:28PM
troy said...
No, that is just a second post. You can only 'comment' ON something, i.e. the topic of the post, which you have not done. LOL
12-16-2007 @ 3:46PM
DonWii said...
WiiFit, Galaxy, and the DS are cannabilizing sales. (Yes, Galaxy has been charting in the top 10 with 30-45k units weekly).
The only console games that have sold very well are Resident Evil and Dragon Quest on Wii, and Dynasty Warrios/Gundam Games on PS3.
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12-16-2007 @ 4:00PM
Service_Games said...
If the Japanese are shying away from console gaming, where are they going? Handheld gaming? Computer gaming (OSX or Win)? Or have they just losing interest in gaming completely?
SG
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12-16-2007 @ 4:25PM
Candace Savino said...
No, I didn't mean to say that they were losing interest in gaming, but some people speculate that Japan is moving away from console gaming in favor of handheld gaming (DS, PSP, and yep, cell phones). As for PC gaming, that isn't big in Japan.
12-16-2007 @ 4:36PM
Service_Games said...
Ah ha! Thanks for the info. It makes perfect sense. I was just a bit confused.
SG
12-16-2007 @ 5:00PM
Candace Savino said...
No problem! Sorry that I didn't make that clear. :)
12-16-2007 @ 4:25PM
tiamat1990 said...
Handheld gaming...have you seen the PSP and DS sales?
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12-16-2007 @ 5:29PM
ssuk said...
Well, it's running up to Christmas... Everyone's broke...
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12-16-2007 @ 7:08PM
Sora267 said...
Funny, I thought that the Japanese were Shinto and Buddhist, meaning that they didn't celebrate Christmas. Oops.
12-16-2007 @ 11:48PM
racecar said...
Lots of Americans are Atheist/Agnostic, but that doesn't stop them from celebrating Christmas.
-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com
12-16-2007 @ 6:01PM
Joe said...
This saddens me I really liked the first NiGHTS on the Sega Saturn and now it looks as if there might not be a third game. So that really sucks. Also seeing as Chocobo's Dungeon did not sell well I wonder how much faith SE still has in the Wii. I was wishing for a new Super Mario RPG. So I hope that game will still get a new game.
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12-16-2007 @ 6:14PM
Gretchen said...
Well let's wait for a month of sales rather than a rumour of 1st day sales, and then see how things did.
12-16-2007 @ 7:12PM
Max Headroom said...
I wouldn't have bought any of those games either. I don't think that very many third parties are making good Wii games yet. Or if they are, they are severly missing their target audience by making everything cartoons. I don't know what's sold well in Japan so far, but in America it is Red Steel, Resident Evil, and Nintendo's first party games. Shouldn't that tell third parties something? DON'T COMPETE WITH NINTENDO'S FIRST PARTY GAMES! YOU WILL FAIL! INSTEAD MAKE SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND NOT CARTOONY!
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12-16-2007 @ 8:22PM
Matt said...
Same here, I have no interest at all in those games. But I don't think the message should be "don't compete with Nintendo's first-party games", I think it should be to make... you know... GOOD games for the system. It's not that first-party Nintendo games sell and third-party games don't sell --- the truth is that good games sell, mediocre games don't. I've got a few third-party Wii games that are good, but there are way too many garbagey ones out there right now..
12-17-2007 @ 12:27AM
racecar said...
Unf. Red Steel is not a good example of a successful Wii game. Yes, it sold a lot of copies, but most of those came from launch sales (read: when nobody had really put their hands on the game yet). If it was truly successful, it'd still be selling lots of copies and wouldn't be considered such a disgrace. So, really, you're right. Nintendo is pretty much the only major software developer for the Wii right now. But it shouldn't be that way.
Additionally, just because none of these games didn't catch your fancy doesn't mean that they aren't well produced and potentially good games. NiGHTS seems to be a pretty interesting game, though I admit that I'm probably not going to buy it. Bad sales are a sad sign for anyone hoping to get a sequel to their favorite cult classic. Developers will just have to say, "Look at what happened to SEGA."
Chocobo's Dungeon looks great, too (as most Square games do), and sad sales on a Square-Enix game could mean doom for any future worthwhile RPGs (beyond those currently in production) coming to the Wii. Trust me, nobody wants that to happen.
Soul Caliber Legends is a case of a good franchise gone bad. It had, what appeared to me to be, good graphics, but cheap and repetitive waggle killed what could have been great. This particular game fits in well with the general idea that you and Matt were referring to. Third parties should create good games that the hardcore crowd can get into, especially if that is going to be their target audience. The shouldn't be making dumbed down controls to reach out into a casual audience when they're not likely to pick up the game up in the first place.
-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com
12-16-2007 @ 9:39PM
thethirdmoose said...
It's because casual gamers don't go out and get games on the first day- only very hardcore gamers do.
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12-16-2007 @ 11:13PM
Nushio (NDF - Blue) said...
I call myself a hardcore gamer, yet I hardly ever buy games the week they come out. I usually wait 2-4 weeks before buying the games.
I have no reason why I do that though.
12-16-2007 @ 9:57PM
B1gC72 said...
it makes me wonder just what the ratio of Hardcore:Casual gamer is over there. if casual gamers are the ones buying the majority of the consoles then most of them arent going to know the history of gaming and probably wouldnt be interested in the nostalgic value of a game like NiGHTS. i have no numbers to back this though, its just a thought.
but regardless they definitely have to figure out whats going on.
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12-16-2007 @ 11:55PM
racecar said...
I wonder if this is a problem of advertising, much akin to what was seen with Metroid Prime 3. Not being in Japan, I can't come to a solid conclusion on this, but it doesn't seem like third parties are really putting any advertising dollars into their Wii-only games. I only see ads for cross-platform games. Perhaps this also stems from Nintendo's requirement that people be shown playing the games in addition to a pure, in-game footage advert. *shrug*
Regardless, I think Nintendo really needs to get a preview/demo channel going that both they and third parties can start placing adverts on. If people got a little hands-on time or any other hype they'd be seeing much better numbers than these.
-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com
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12-17-2007 @ 1:55AM
BDR said...
Oh man. Ooooooooh Maaaaaaaaaan. If Chocobo Dungeon can't move copies in Japan, I shudder to think of the future of quality RPGs on the Wii. RPGs are an important genre that can help Nintendo to capture the hardcore gamer (along with FPS), and if the Wii lacks quality titles there's no doubt that it will hurt. Bad.
That said, these aren't confirmed figures, and it may have a staggered start, akin to SMG.
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12-17-2007 @ 8:26AM
Michael K. said...
maybe those games didn't sell because they all look bad, except chocobo's dungeon
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12-17-2007 @ 10:39AM
Ghaleon said...
Isn't every Chocobo Dungeon game complete garbage?
I didn't think NiGHTS would sell well, but not THIS badly. And I figured No More Heroes would do wayyy better. This is no good beans.
I don't think most gamers are "educated" in general anymore -- hence DQ and RE being mediocre games but two of the only huge 3rd party Wii sellers. No one remembers NiGHTS, or WHY it should be remembered. Barf.
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12-17-2007 @ 12:47PM
Ihar `Philips` Filipau said...
DS. DS. DS.
All the games are fall into two categories: (1) remakes and (2) has analogues one on DS.
Comparing launch week sales of WiiFit and UR MR GAY, one can safely say that Jap's Wii audience is more interested in new original games.
And since literally everybody in Japan has DS already, games which have relative titles on DS would definitely outsell (or cannibalize completely) sales of Wii's titles.
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12-17-2007 @ 8:16PM
aeron said...
racecar, you have no idea what americans are do you? Hollywood controls all of the filth you see...they are atheist.
Anyway, the wii has only been successful for nintendo and little developers that only need to sell 10,000 copies to get good profits off of shovelware.
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12-18-2007 @ 3:03PM
Arthur Lucena said...
This is a bit sad. Just like Quest of Barbaros - a good game with a low numbers. The third parties doesnt realized that the great amount of wii customers doesnt used to "follow" the games industry, doesnt used to read reviews, doesnt used to wait great gamers.
So make tv commercials, outdoors and sort of things to aim the casual gamer.
I mean... thats what i think.
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